Futile Devices Scans

After arriving at the film set, He Ping was treated like the star everyone revolved around. Once he agreed to return for the reshoots, it wasn’t just the director who was delighted—everyone else was ecstatic as well, because thanks to him, they finally no longer had to listen to the director nagging in their ears every single day. Some were practically moved to tears with joy.

Director Shi of Beacon Fires was famous for his explosive temper, but he was also an exceptionally talented director. Every film he made either became a box-office hit or received outstanding critical acclaim. He had launched the careers of many stars and won so many awards that people joked his hands must ache from holding them. With a director of such stature, no one dared offend him.

It was also fortunate that He Ping was easygoing. Otherwise, if a conflict had broken out, nobody would have known whose side to take. Supporting one would mean offending the other, and supporting the other would mean offending the first. Just imagining it was terrifying.

“He Ping, thank you so much. You’ve saved all of us.” The producer hurried over the moment he saw He Ping and grasped his hand tightly, expressing his sincere gratitude. “Director Shi’s demands may be a little excessive, so please bear with him.”

He Ping smiled and shook his head. “Not at all. I really admire Director Shi’s pursuit of perfection in filmmaking.”

“That’s good. Thank you for your trouble.”

After the producer, several more people came over to thank He Ping, leaving him both amused and helpless. It was as though he were some sort of savior. Still, being liked by so many people felt nice.

The moment Director Shi spotted He Ping, he excitedly grabbed him and tried to begin filming immediately. The stylist and makeup artist rushed over and intercepted them at once. His styling wasn’t even finished yet—how could they possibly start filming right away?

However, it was unclear whether news of He Ping’s whereabouts had leaked. While the reshoots were underway, a large crowd of fans suddenly gathered outside the set. There were over a hundred of them, all shouting He Ping’s name at the top of their lungs. The noise began interfering with filming.

Director Shi exploded with anger and started cursing. Who had leaked the news that He Ping was there? Only a handful of insiders knew about bringing him back for reshoots. Everyone understood how famous He Ping was, so they had all tacitly agreed not to reveal anything. Yet somehow the information still got out. It certainly hadn’t come from He Ping or his manager. Nine times out of ten, the leak had come from someone within the production team.

Naturally, the person responsible had no intention of stepping forward to admit it.

Under the circumstances, all they could do was try their best to stop the fans outside from entering and prevent them from disrupting filming any further. It had taken great effort to persuade He Ping to come back. Time was already extremely tight. If delays occurred because of this, they would have no way to answer to him.

At that moment, He Ping volunteered to go outside and meet the fans. He said he would try to persuade them to quiet down.

Fans could be reasonable—or completely unreasonable—but at the moment, it seemed like the only available option. Otherwise, filming could not continue. Everyone agreed to He Ping’s proposal. However, less than two minutes after He Ping and his manager went outside, they returned in a flustered state. It turned out that the crowd outside wasn’t made up solely of fans. There was also a swarm of reporters. The instant they saw He Ping, the reporters became excited and rushed toward him. Afraid something might happen, his manager immediately dragged him back inside.

In the end, there was no better solution. He Ping told Director Shi to continue filming. Although the noise was irritating, he could still tolerate it. The person most affected was He Ping himself, and since he said there was no problem, everyone wanted to finish filming as quickly as possible.

Perhaps the noisy environment triggered a rebellious determination in everyone. The louder it became outside, the more determined they were to perform well. As a result, He Ping’s number of NG takes actually decreased. Director Shi was very pleased, and they ultimately finished even earlier than expected. Unfortunately, the fans and reporters were still gathered outside, making it impossible for He Ping to leave openly.

Just then, a car suddenly drove into the set. The crowd at the entrance scattered as the vehicle charged through. The tires screeched as it stopped, kicking up a cloud of dust. Shen Yuan stepped out of the driver’s seat wearing black sunglasses and raised a hand toward He Ping.

“Hi.”

Seeing him there, He Ping was surprised. He walked over and asked, “Brother Shen? What are you doing here?”

“I was the one who called him,” Yu Lu explained.

Shen Yuan and He Ping had first met at one of Wang Cheng’s gatherings. They had stayed in touch afterward and met several times. Even after He Ping became a celebrity, they crossed paths on numerous occasions. Free-spirited by nature, Shen Yuan had never followed the path the Shen family arranged for him. Some of the films He Ping starred in had even been funded by Shen Yuan. Yu Lu had met him several times and knew they were friends. Coincidentally, she also knew that Shen Yuan was staying at the same hotel and wasn’t far from the film set, so she called him for help.

He Ping didn’t want to trouble Shen Yuan, but he also couldn’t bring himself to blame Yu Lu. He merely reminded her to consult him first next time.

“Alright, alright. Your manager was only worried about you.” Shen Yuan grabbed He Ping’s hand. “It’s total chaos outside. If you go out there now, they’ll eat you alive. Come with me. I’ll get you out of here—and we can grab something to eat while we’re at it.”

Before He Ping could say anything, Shen Yuan had already shoved him into the passenger seat and slammed the door shut.

“What about Yu Lu?” He Ping asked.

“She’ll help draw away the crowd outside,” Shen Yuan explained after getting into the car. With Yu Lu there, all they needed was someone with a similar build to He Ping.

The production team was aware of the plan. One volunteer stepped forward, while the stylist and makeup artist helped with the disguise. After putting on He Ping’s coat, the stand-in looked about seventy to eighty percent similar to him. As expected, once Yu Lu led the double outside, both the reporters and fans were successfully diverted. Shen Yuan then calmly drove away.

He drove to a restaurant for dinner. Since He Ping was a public figure, Shen Yuan reserved a private room.

Worried about Yu Lu, He Ping called her while they were waiting for the food to arrive. Only after learning she was fine did he finally relax.

Resting his chin on one hand, Shen Yuan watched the expression of relief on He Ping’s face. The corners of his lips curled upward.

“He Ping, you’re so concerned about the people around you. Aren’t you afraid they’ll fall in love with you?”

He Ping froze. “Why would they? That’s just normal concern.”

“It seems normal to you, but others might not see it that way. Sometimes a simple, thoughtful gesture can easily move someone’s heart, especially when it’s coming from someone as gentle and polite as you. You never know—maybe they just haven’t said anything.”

Shen Yuan smiled.

He Ping opened his mouth. Shen Yuan’s words sounded like praise, yet somehow they made him feel uncomfortable. Unable to think of a rebuttal, he could only shake his head.

“I don’t think that’s likely.”

“How is it not? I know someone.”

He Ping stared at him in astonishment. After a long moment, he finally found his voice.

“…Who is this person you’re talking about?”

Suddenly, Shen Yuan pushed himself up from his seat and leaned across the table, bringing their faces much closer together. As He Ping sat frozen in place, Shen Yuan’s handsome face slowly curved into a smile.

“That person is me. I’ve fallen in love with you.”

Before He Ping could react, Shen Yuan pressed a hand to the back of his head and pulled him forward, stealing his first kiss.

Just as Shen Yuan had imagined, He Ping’s lips carried a refined, elegant sweetness that made them impossible to resist. Growing bolder, he slipped his tongue inside, capturing the retreating tongue and teasing it skillfully. The expert kiss instantly robbed He Ping of the ability to think. A visible blush spread rapidly across his cheeks.

Just as Shen Yuan was about to deepen the kiss further, there came a knock at the door.

He Ping snapped back to his senses instantly. Shen Yuan, caught off guard, was shoved away so forcefully that he nearly lost his balance. At that moment, a server carrying dishes entered the room and happened to witness a customer rolling across the floor. The server’s expression nearly cracked on the spot. Apparently these guests had unusual preferences, and the staff had chosen a very unfortunate time to enter.

“Just leave it there,” Shen Yuan said.

He had already regained his composure and showed not the slightest hint of embarrassment. In contrast, He Ping kept his head lowered. The redness of his ears, however, completely betrayed his state of mind.

After the server left, Shen Yuan picked up a dumpling and placed it in He Ping’s bowl. He Ping didn’t reach for his chopsticks. His expression was conflicted. Should he stay? Or leave right now? The next second, however, his stomach growled loudly.

Shen Yuan chuckled. “I know you have questions for me. After you’ve filled your stomach, you can ask me anything you want, and I’ll answer. Eat first.”

Unable to find a suitable response, He Ping silently accepted the suggestion. Nevertheless, he remained deeply bothered by the kiss. Throughout the meal, he buried himself in his food. Whenever Shen Yuan spoke to him, he refused to answer. The two maintained this strangely awkward atmosphere until every dish on the table had been cleaned out.

Only then did He Ping realize just how full he was. He had assumed he wouldn’t have much of an appetite, yet he had eaten even more than usual.

This was definitely Shen Yuan’s fault for constantly piling food into his bowl.

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